Besides being a huge veggie month, May has been my month for moving the seedlings and the over-wintering perennials outdoors. Cosmo seeds I received for Christmas and planted during winter months have flourished. Last week I was surprised and delighted to be greeted by the first blooms when I entered the greenhouse.

The happy cosmos now have a new home in pots on the deck.

All four varieties of sweet peas I planted thrived in the greenhouse, and now three of the varieties have new homes against trellises, poles, and fences all around Coppertop.

One last tray of sweet pea seedlings remains. They are a deep burgundy variety called “Beaujolais.”  I haven’t located the right spot for these yet, but I need to since they are looking a little anemic.

I remember how well sunflower seedlings did for me last year. This year I’ve cut back and only planted two trays of sunflowers, including some of my favorite deeper tones. This afternoon I’ll transplant them into this full-sun patch of soil along the side of the veggie garden, right next to the mammoth currant bushes. I’ll probably need to stake them next week.

The majority of my echinacea overwintered in the greenhouse, mainly because I wanted their pots for tulip bulbs. This week I’ll be moving the echinacea back into the garden. As bulbs’ foliage browns I’m labeling and storing the bulbs in containers in the garage for fall planting.

Some of my favorite potted plants last year were heliotrope with their cherry pie fragrance. They are grown as annuals here since they are such tender perennials. One sister and I purchased heliotrope seed at Butchart Gardens in BC last August. The heliotrope seedlings have taken forever to get to just this size. When I put eight small pots outside the greenhouse to harden them off, slugs ate four pots worth in just one night.  Not sure they’ll make it to flowering stage before first frost.

One other germination failure occurred with the nasturtium this year. I tried growing a special white with rose eye variety and one measly plant germinated!